


where you're loved

by Krewlak



Series: don't you know you're all i want under the tree? [3]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-22
Updated: 2016-12-22
Packaged: 2018-09-11 03:45:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8952562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Krewlak/pseuds/Krewlak
Summary: “Christmas was a week ago.”“And today is the first time that we’ve all been able to get together,” Lydia says with a sigh. “We’ve been over this, Derek. It’s important for the pack to have our own holiday get together.”





	

**Author's Note:**

> Unbeta'd, so don't judge.

“You know, Lydia, there is such thing as too many lights,” Kira says as she touches yet another strand of lights. They glow brightly for a second before settling into the same comforting glow as the other thirty. 

 

“It is not my fault that Derek has, like, two lamps in this place,” Lydia says with a shrug. She smiles at the lights wrapping around the staircase and spins around on her heel. She wraps an arm around Kira’s waist and guides the kitsune to the snack table. “I mean, how does he even see in here at night.”

 

“Werewolf powers,” Kira says with a little shrug. “I didn’t get any super sight or hearing.”

 

“The struggle is real,” Lydia says with a solemn nod. Kira giggles and starts folding paper napkins into little cranes. “Very nice.”

 

“I am good for something other than lighting things up, you know,” Kira says with a small sigh. 

 

“How much longer is this going to take?” Derek asks, coming out of the kitchen with a giant bowl of punch. He put it down on the table and crossed his arms, glaring at all of the festive gear around his apartment. “Christmas was a week ago.”

 

“And today is the first time that we’ve all been able to get together,” Lydia says with a sigh. “We’ve been over this, Derek. It’s important for the pack to have our own holiday get together.”

 

“At my loft?” Derek asks with a raised eyebrow. 

 

“But your place is huge! It’s perfect for a party,” Kira says with a smile so bright that Derek swears he’s slightly blinded for a second. “I mean - remember the rave? That was fun!”

 

“Oh, you mean the rave you guys threw when I was out of town? That rave?” Derek asks, smirking slightly. 

 

“You know Danny still isn’t over the fact that you flipped the DJs table,” Lydia says as she sets out paper cups and plates. 

 

“See how much I care,” Derek replies, pointing at his frown. Lydia smirks and rolls her eyes, continuing to set up the snack table. 

 

“It’ll be nice, though,” Kira continues. “To have the pack together for something that’s not life threatening.”

 

“Yeah, Derek,” Lydia says with a sly smile. “Isn’t it nice to spend time with Scott when your lives aren’t in danger?”

 

Derek tenses slightly. He hasn’t talked to Scott since Christmas. He’s giving Scott space. At least, he tells himself that he’s giving Scott space and not hiding. Besides, if Scott wanted to talk about it then he could have come over at any point. But he hasn’t and that’s all the answer that Derek needs, isn’t it? 

 

It was just a mistletoe kiss. It doesn’t mean anything. Derek just got home. He doesn’t need to potentially ruin everything by hounding after Scott, doesn’t need to make an already tense situation worse by adding feelings. Romantic feelings. Because he has them for Scott. He might deny it out loud but Derek has never been good at lying to himself. 

 

“Whose life is in danger?” Liam asks as he walks into the loft with Mason trailing behind him. Corey slips in a few second later, quiet as ever. 

 

“We brought chips and dip,” Mason says, holding up two grocery bags. “And soda and some cookies and maybe we got a little carried away at the store.”

 

Lydia smiles at Mason the way a kindergarten teacher would smile at an overeager four year old. Mason smiles back and Derek can tell by his heart rate that he’s the tiniest bit intimidated by Lydia still. Derek takes the bags from Mason and heads to the kitchen to put everything on the serving plates that Lydia had brought over. 

 

Liam follows Derek into the kitchen, a frown displayed across his face. He doesn’t seem as angry, seems to have to settled into being a werewolf. It helps that it was Scott who bit him, that it was Scott who could guide him through the transition. Scott always had a softer touch, a gentler approach, and it’s good. It’s exactly what an Alpha should be. 

 

“So you kissed him,” Liam says, looking down at the counter. He runs a finger along the edge before looking up at Derek through his eyelashes. Derek raises an eyebrow at him, wanting Liam to get to the point. Yes, Derek kissed Scott. Everyone apparently knows all about it. What was the point of confirming something that Liam already knows. “You just. You can’t just roll back into town like nothing happened, you know? You can’t do that to him, to the pack.”

 

“I’m not doing anything to him,” Derek says slowly. He pours chips into a bowl and cracks open the jars of dip, shoving spoons into them. “I’m not going to apologize for leaving. Not to you.”

 

“I don’t want an apology,” Liam snaps. There are those anger issues. “I just want to know if you’re staying.” 

 

“I’m staying.”

 

Liam nods once, turning to look at the pack as they chat in the living room. Malia and Hayden have walked in. Malia has already draped an arm around Kira and Hayden is looking at Liam expectantly. Liam waves his hand at her before turning back to Derek. He’s still glaring and Derek is getting a little tired of it. 

 

“What do you want Liam?” Derek asks softly. He can see both Hayden and Malia turn towards them slightly, listening to their conversation intentionally or not. There is no privacy with werecreatures around. “You want me to promise that I won’t hurt Scott? That I won’t hurt the pack?”

 

Liam glares up at him even harder than before and Derek is sure that he’s going to burst a blood vessel or something. Derek sighs and shakes his head, grabbing the chips and the dip. He starts towards the party when Liam grabs his arm, “He’s been through a lot since you’ve been gone. Sometimes. Sometimes I can’t even believe he’s still standing.”

 

Derek nods and waits for Liam to continue. It’s obvious that there’s something else on his mind, something else he has to say. 

 

Liam lets go of Derek’s arm and the glare falls from his face slightly. He looks past Derek at Hayden, face going even softer than before. Derek knows that look. Has seen on Scott’s face. Hell, he’s seen it on his own face. 

 

“He doesn’t deserve anymore heartache,” Liam says simply, turning back to Derek with raised eyebrows. “Okay?”

 

“Okay,” Derek says with a small nod. Liam stares at Derek for another minute before he walks back to the group. His arm automatically goes around Hayden and it makes Derek think of Scott and Allison. Of himself and Paige. It’s bittersweet. 

 

“Alright, boys and girls, non-denominational Santa has arrived!” Stiles shouts as he walks into the loft, holding a box full of brightly wrapped gifts. 

 

“We said no gift exchange!” Kira shouts, glaring at Stiles. She turns to Malia, eyes wide and pleading. “Right? We said no gifts because we’re all broke and it would be easier this way.”

 

“We definitely said no gifts,” Malia replies, shaking her head at Stiles. “Its supposed to be a giftless party, Stiles.”

 

“Yeah, well,” Stiles replies with a shrug. He puts the box down and pulls both of them into a big hug. “But I just love you guys so much I couldn’t resist.”

 

“Thanks for letting us have this here,” Scott says as he walks up to Derek. His face looks pinched and he has his hands shoved into his pockets. He looks away from Derek and smiles as Stiles gives everyone but Liam a hug. “We’ve never done this before. It’s nice.”

 

“Well, thank Lydia,” Derek says, trying to shake the awkward feeling blooming in his chest. “She more or less took over everything.” 

 

“Yeah, she does that,” Scott mumbles, still looking over to the rest of the pack. Scott sighs and looks at Derek with a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes and it breaks Derek’s heart just the tiniest bit. 

 

“I should,” Derek says, lifting the snacks slightly. Scott nods and moves out of the way, heading over to say his own hellos. Derek watches him go for a second before heading to the snack table. 

 

“You know you’re never going to get anywhere if you keep acting like this,” Lydia whispers, eyes firmly on the plates and napkins. Derek puts down the bowls a little too hard. He can feel Malia and Kira’s eyes on his back. Lydia looks at him with wide, innocent eyes. “What? Did I say something wrong?”

 

“I’m not . . . I won’t force something,” Derek replies. Malia has drifted a little closer to the table and Derek knows that she’s listening. “It’s fine. Everything is fine.”

 

Lydia opens her mouth but is cut off by Stiles throwing himself onto her. She smiled and rolled her eyes, throwing an elbow back into his gut, “Stiles Stilinski, I swear to God.”

 

“Come on, Lydia,” Stiles says with a laugh. “Get in the Chrismahannukah spirit! Don’t spend all your time trying to understand Mr. Sourwolf.”

 

“Sourwolf? I thought we dropped that, like, two years ago,” Lydia says, rolling her eyes again. She wraps an arm around his waist and pushes him away from the table. She looks over her shoulder at Derek with raised eyebrows, tilting her head slightly to where Scott is standing. Derek sighs and turns away, heading back to the kitchen to get the rest of the snacks. 

 

It’s fine. Everything, right now, is fine. 

 

***

 

Everything is not fine. Scott spends most of the night avoiding Derek. Well, not avoiding. He didn’t walk away when Derek walked up or turn his back when Derek looked his way. They chat in groups or stand quietly next to each other while someone is telling a story. 

 

Derek is sure that from the outside everything looks perfectly normal for them but it’s not. It’s just not. 

 

The party ends quicker than Derek expected it to. The chips and dip and appetizers are demolished and the punch bowl is sucked dry. Stiles hands out presents and everyone smiles at the little trinkets that he’d managed to afford. He even got Derek something - an oven mitt shaped like a rooster. (“For the next time you want to make a nasty ass fruit cake.”)

 

The loft is quiet without the pack there. Derek sighs as he leans against the kitchen counter. He hadn’t been able to shoo out Kira (and a wrangled Malia) before they cleaned everything up. All that’s left is a full trash can and the fading smell of pack, of family. 

 

His mind wanders to Scott briefly but Derek shakes it away. He refuses to overthink every little interaction they had shared that night. Whatever happened on Christmas doesn’t mean anything now. It didn’t mean anything then. And it was fine. 

 

Derek rubs his face and stands up. He eyes the trash and sniffs once before rolling his eyes and tying it shut. There is no way he’s getting any sleep with that smell wafting through the loft. He’s just pulling the door open when he notices the other heartbeat coming from the hallway. 

 

“Scott?” Derek asks, looking down the hall. Scott turns around to face Derek, a sheepish grin on his face. “You forget something?”

 

“Uh, yeah,” Scott says after a minute. He nods and walks forward, hands curled into fists. Once he’s standing in front of Derek, he shoves a hand into his back pocket. “I wanted to give this to you.”

 

Derek looks down at the small, wrapped box. Derek stares at the box and doesn’t move to take it. He can smell Scott’s anxiety and it makes him look up. Scott looks so embarrassed but his mouth is pressed into a firm line. He’s not backing down from this even though it’s obvious how miserable it’s making him. 

 

“Thanks,” Derek mutters, taking the box from him. He rips through the wrapping paper, hands shaking the slightest bit. It’s the triskelion medallion. The one his mother gave him. The one that Kate had stolen to try and control her own shift. 

 

“I found it,” Scott says after Derek is silent for too long. “After everything with Kate. I found it and I don’t know. Held on to it?”

 

“Scott,” Derek says softly. He can’t even begin to describe the feeling in his chest. 

 

“I don’t know why I held onto it but it’s, like, a family heirloom, right? I figured you’d want it back. You know, if you ever came back,” Scott continues, heartbeat getting faster and faster. Derek looks at him for a minute before leaning forward to kiss him. 

 

It's soft and sweet and probably number two on his list of things that Derek shouldn’t be doing. He pulls away sooner than he wants and he can’t look Scott in the eye. He stares down at the medallion, tracing the lines of the triskelion with his finger. 

“Derek,” Scott says, voice full of that Alpha power. Derek sighs and looks up at him through his eyelashes. He’s being a coward but he can’t stop himself. Throw him in the line of danger, give him an enemy to fight, and Derek is sure of himself. Give him the chance to talk about his feelings? And he’s running for the hills. 

 

“I didn’t get you anything,” Derek mumbles, looking to the side. He’s definitely trying to change the subject. Anything but having to accept the inevitable rejection he’s about to get. 

 

“Why did you kiss me?” Scott asks, ignoring Derek’s segway. “Because it’s the second time that you’ve done it and you avoided me after the first time and I just. I want to understand what’s going on.”

 

“I,” Derek starts before snapping his mouth shut. He shakes his head and looks up and down the hallway. “Come inside?”

 

Scott nods and follows Derek back into the loft. He stands in the middle, hands shoved in his pockets and looks around the room. Derek watches him, trying to gage just what is happening and how Scott feels about it. There’s the scent of nerves and the unsteady beat of Scott’s heart but none of it helps Derek getting his footing. 

 

“I was so excited when you got home,” Scott says into the empty loft. 

 

“You didn’t seem too happy,” Derek replies. He stays by the door. He needs the space if he’s going to get through this. “Seemed like you didn’t trust me. Like we were back to square one.”

 

“You weren’t the only long lost friend to come back unexpectedly,” Scott says, looking over his shoulder at Derek. “Theo. He was a friend once too. But he wasn’t when he came back. I just. I wasn’t sure.”

 

“I would never do anything to hurt the pack,” Derek says, pouring as much emotion into his words as he’s capable of. The silent, unspoken part sits between them but Scott nods. He knows that he means he would never do anything to hurt Scott. Not anymore.

 

“I know that. I do. I mean, you were around town for a few days and we didn’t even talk but I felt you. I felt this missing piece of the pack finally sliding into place and,” Scott says with a shrug. “I never should have doubted you.”

 

“You had every reason to,” Derek says. His heart is pounding out of his chest. He doesn’t think there is anything he can do right now to calm it down. “I was gone. You didn’t know who or what was actually coming back.” 

 

“I’m not the best Alpha,” Scott says. Derek opens his mouth to protest. Because it isn’t true. Yes, people have died. People have been hurt. But he knows that Scott is doing the best that he can, protecting this town the best that he can. It’s not a werewolf’s job to protect humans but Scott has taken on the task and, if nothing else, that decision deserves to be admired. “No. It’s true. I’m . . . too trusting, according to Stiles. Too unwilling to do what’s needed. But I’m trying and I know that if you’re here. If you’re going to stay. You’ll help me be better, right? A few trade secrets?” 

 

Derek smiles and nods, looking down at his feet. 

 

“We kissed,” Scott blurts out. Derek looks back up, eyes wide. He had honestly thought that they weren’t going to talk about it. That this was going to be the extension of their conversation. “We kissed twice and I don’t know if it meant anything to you or if you’ve just gotten in the habit of kissing people while you were away or what. I mean, that’s a Peruvian thing, right? Kissing your friends?”

 

“Usually on the cheek,” Derek mutters. He can feel his cheeks heating up. “But we’re not friends, Scott.”

 

Scott’s face drops and Derek feels like an utter ass. 

 

“I mean, we’re not  _ just  _ friends,” Derek tries to clarify. He takes a step towards Scott. “I . . . it wasn’t nothing to me. Those kisses. They meant something. To me.”

 

“Oh thank god,” Scott says with a laugh. The next second he’s stepping forward and pulling Derek in by the back of his neck. He kisses Derek hard, teeth bumping into each other. It’s a decidedly unsexy kiss but Derek loves every second of it. Scott buries his hands in Derek’s short hair and Derek grabs Scott by the waist, pulling him in closer. 

 

They kiss and they kiss and they kiss and when, finally, one of them has to breathe they pull away. Scott rests his forehead against Derek’s and smiles, “I’m sorry. I should have let you finish talking.”

 

“This is good though,” Derek mumbles, pressing another soft kiss to Scott’s mouth. “This is way better than anything I was going to say.”

 

“Good,” Scott says with a small laugh. “That’s definitely good.”

 

Derek smiles and presses another kiss to Scott’s puffy lips. Yeah. This is home now. 

**Author's Note:**

> I was fucking determined to finish this series and I'VE DONE IT. Now to try and finish my TW Secret Santa in time.


End file.
